Warning! Global warming revives bacteria and viruses that have been in hibernation for thousands of years

May 17, 2017

Exposed to light and oxygen, many dangerous viruses will be destroyed, but some will survive and infect humans and animals. Among the most resistant viruses are those of the giant species.

Researchers are warning us of a new danger that the whole world avoids talking: bacteria and viruses that have been hibernating for thousands of years in frozen soil are about to be released after melting glaciers.

Now, the Arctic is warming up three times faster than the rest of the planet, and glaciers are melting fast and permafrost is beginning to thaw. Thus, these microorganisms will be released into the atmosphere and into the soil and can trigger serious epidemics.

These dangerous microorganisms have been so far, for tens of thousands of years, under ice or in permafrost. As we know, bacteria and viruses can survive without problem in the permanently frozen soil.

Jean-Michel Claverie, a biologist at the University of Aix-Marseille in France, has analyzed microbes in permafrost and says he has found many species very dangerous for humans.

People do not have immunity from these species, so the danger is very high, the researcher adds.

The good news is that the permafrost areas are not inhabited(yet), but when the time comes, a great disaster will take place. We can also find many types of bacteria than can help us fight many diseases.